German Nut Corners (Nussecken)

Nussecken (which literally means nut corners) are moist, nutty, and absolutely delicious German nut bars.

Nussecken are my husband’s favorite baked goodies. They’re so good, not too sweet and super easy to make. Every time I make them, they always disappear in no time!

Made with a buttery shortcrust pastry, spread with a thin layer of jam and topped with delicious and buttery nut filling that’s loaded with ground hazelnuts, almond flakes and chopped almonds.

After baking they are cut into nut triangles and dipped in chocolate after cooling completely. So good!! Make a great anytime treat or a perfect homemade gift from the kitchen.

The authentic nussecken recipe calls for apricot jam. But I have made this recipe with, orange jam, melon & ginger jam, and so on. And the nut corners still turned out delicious.

With this no – fail and easy to follow step by step photo recipe, you too can make your own nussecken at home just like nussecken at a German bakery. 

What you will need to make this nussecken recipe

For the shortcrust pastry:

• 300 g (10.6 oz/ 2 ½ cups) plain flour/ all purpose flour plus extra for dusting
• 100 g (3.5 oz/ ½ cup) sugar
• 100 g (3.5 oz/ 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon) butter, soft
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 medium eggs Germany, large US, room temperature

For the nut layer:

• 2 tablespoons apricot jam or any, to spread on the pastry
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 150 g (5.3 oz) brown sugar
• 150 g (5.3 oz/ ½ cup + 2 tablespoons) butter
• 200 g (7.1 oz/ 1 1/3 cups) ground hazelnuts
• 100 g (3.5 oz/ about 1 cup) almonds flakes
• 100 g (3.5 oz/ 2/3 cup) chopped almonds
• 4 tablespoons water

* *Vanilla: This recipe calls for vanilla extract, but feel free to use about 1 teaspoon vanilla seed paste or about 2 tablespoon vanilla sugar. Just reduce the amount of sugar if you’re using vanilla sugar.

You’ll also need for the chocolate glaze:

• 200 g (7 oz ) dark chocolate/ couverture 
• 1 tablespoon sunflower oil

How to make nussecken recipe

Make the shortcrust pastry

Line a large baking sheet with a parchment paper and set aside. (I have used a 45×37 cm (17.72 x 14.57 inch) baking sheet). Fold the parchment paper on the sides to the size of the baking sheet, so that it will fit perfectly well and set aside.

To make the shortcrust pastry, simply mix flour and baking powder in a bowl. Add the remaining shortcrust pastry ingredients and knead eith with your hands or hand mixer with dough hooks to a smooth dough.

Dust your hands with flour and shape the dough into a ball. Next, roll out the lightly dusted dough with a lightly dusted rolling pin on the parchment paper that previously folded into a rectangle shape (or into the shape of the tray that you are using).

Just make sure to place parchment paper on a wooden cutting board or a silicone mat first, just to keep it from slipping away. Rolling out like this is faster and makes life easier.

• If you want, you could also just put the dough in the middle of the baking sheet lined with parchment paper and press it out with dusted hands to fit the baking sheet to the edges and corners.

Now place the parchment paper with the rolled out dough on the baking sheet. Press out the dough nicely to fit the baking sheet.

Uisng a spoon or pastry brush, spread warmed jam (either in the microwave or on the stove) over the rolled out pastry. Then preheat the oven to 180 °C (356 °F), with both up and lower heat. (Convection bake function: 160 °C (320 °F) ).

Make the nut mixture and bake

For the nut topping, simply heat the brown sugar, vanilla extract, butter, and water in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, while stirring constantly. Then remove from the heat.

Add chopped almonds, ground hazelnuts, almond flakes (leave 1 hand full of flakes for later) and mix well.

Spread the topping evenly over the rolled out shortcrust pastry. Smooth the surface with the help of a dough scraper card or something similar. Then sprinkle the remaining flaked almonds on top and bake for about 30 minutes.

Cut and glaze the nut bars:

Immediately after baking remove the baking sheet from the oven and cut the bars immediately. First into rectangles, then squares and finally into triangles. Then let let triangles cool completely before dipping them in melted chocolate.

• Don’t try to remove the bars from the baking sheet, while they are still warm, they will break!!

Once the nut corners have cooled completely, melt the chocolate in the microwave, over a hot bath or in a sauce pan. Then stir in the oil. Adding oil makes the glaze easier to spread.

Remove the corners of the parchment paper from the tray. Using the dough scraper card or something similar, go between the corners just to be sure they don’t stick together.

Dip the nut corners one at a time into the glaze. Scrape off the excess chocolate with a spoon or so. Then place them on a parchment paper (or cooling tray) and let dry. Repeat the process until all the nussecken are dipped in chocolate.

You can also decorate your nut corners however you like: dip both corners in the glaze, dip just one corner, dip the cut surfaces in it or simply drizzle melted chocolate over the tops of nut corners.

By the way, the nut corners also taste great without chocolate. The nussecken taste BEST after a few days. So make sure to make them a few days ahead and let them steep.

FAQ – Can I use jam other than apricot jam to bake the corners?

Yes you can. I made these nut bars with all kinds of jams, from ginger – watermelon jam, quince, to orange jam and they all tasted great.

I don’t have access to hazelnuts. Can I use other nuts to make the nussecken

Of course! I have used a mixture of hazelnuts and almonds to make these nut bars, but feel free to substitute the ground hazelnuts with ground almonds, walnuts, or any ground nut of your choice.

Why let nut bars cool completely before dipping them in melted chocolate

Because the nut corners are unstable and fragile when still warm. So if you try to dip them in chocolate, they will break.

Can you also freeze the nut corners?

Of course. The nut corners can be frozen wonderfully and thawed at room temperature.

How long do the nussecken last?

Let the nut bars dry completely, preferably overnight at room temperature, before storing them. Otherwise your cookies will become molded if you store them immediately, without giving them enough time to dry.

Well stored nussecken will last for weeks. That means if you keep them in cookie tin they will last for up to 4 weeks. Avoid using plastic containers to store the nut bars, otherwise they will become soft.

Also make sure to put parchment paper between each layer, so that the nussecken will not stick together.

Love this Nussecken Recipe? Try my German Hazelnut Cake and German Spice Cake recipes, too.

Did you make this German Nussecken recipe?  I’d love to hear from you! Simply write a review and add rating to it.